Wind Chimes
by Ms.TamborineMan
Summary: "So what you mean to say..." a glance toward Spock-"Is that its all in our heads?" K/S with some Chulu. Based off TOS Episode "Shore Leave." Kirk and the crew find themselves on a peaceful planet with very Earth like qualities, paradise in all respects. But this paradise is not all that it seems...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"This place is wonderful," said Jim Kirk. Strolling casually, he stretched his arms above his head and linked them together behind his head. He tilted his head back, shooting a smile to his first officer. "This is great, Spock. I'm so glad to finally get some quality time with my favorite first officer."

"I am your only first officer." Spock gazed at him sharply, brown eyes nearly slicing Jim in half in their intensity.

"Ah...Of course." Jim said. He stopped. So did Spock. Furtively, he glanced back the way they'd just come. "So, Spock, what is the likelihood of our being found by our...colleagues?"

"All things considered, slim to none."

_Yes!_ Jim thought. He reached up to touch the Vulcan's chest, his hand practically shaking in anticipation, but at the last moment, Spock turned away. Jim let out a half-sigh, half-angry exhalation, turning away and crossing his arms over his chest as if nothing at all had just happened.

Spock seemed absorbed with something else now, namely, the tricorder he held in his hands. Was he oblivious, or did he just _want_ to keep it professional? Jim didn't know.

"Quite strange," he commented, gazing up at the branches of a reaching, green leaved tree. "This is not the kind of readings we got from the ship's instruments."

"Yeah, I know." said Jim quickly. "They're completely opposite. Now, Spock, there's been something I've been meaning to..."

"Jim!"

His head whipped up. Much to his dismay, Uhura was approaching.

"Spock," he grumbled, "I thought you said the chances were slim to none!"

"I did," Spock said. "That only applies to a single given moment, however."

"But still, you..."

"Jim!"

"Dang it," he muttered to himself, then turned fully to face his communications officer. He didn't try to keep the dread out of his voice.

"_Yes_, Lieutenant?"

"You'd better get over here."

Jim sighed. What the heck was it now? Why did the woman have to be so ambiguous? She turned, he long ponytail swishing behind her. Jim followed. "Stay here, Spock," he shouted over his shoulder. "That's an order!"

When Uhura had led him back to the tree covered area at which they had beamed down, she pointed frantically to a spot on the dark ground, illuminated by the sun slating through the leaves overhead.

"So?"

"It's a rabbit track!"

"And?"

Uhura sighed hugely in frustration. "The readings showed there was no animal life!"

"Yeah, and they also showed no vegetation," Jim said. He brought a hand to her shoulder and patted it. "You can calm down now, Lieutenant."

Uhura's cheeks puffed up in anger. She glared at him steadily, but he couldn't have cared less.

"Besides," he said, "If you weren't so focused on a stupid footprint, you wouldn't have lost the rest of the landing crew. Where are they, anyway?"

"I don't know," he snapped. "Am I their keeper?"

"If I order you to be, you are."

Finally she conceded. "Permission to call and find out?"

"Granted."

She whipped out her communicator and spun around quirkily. "Uhura to Dr. McCoy. Come in please."

As she continued talking, Jim ambled around the area. It was beautiful. What could ever be wrong with the place? This entire planet semmed like a snapshot from a garden paradise. The only things that would make this more like a backyard garden were wind chimes.

"Alright," he heard Uhura say, "Uhura out."

"Well? Report!" Jim smiled in amusement as Uhura sent him another death glare, this one even more withering than the first. She didn't move any closer, although they were nearly five feet apart.

"They're about five hundred yards southeast of where we are now."

A breeze blew through the leaves, slipping through the branches and lightly tousling Jim's dirty blonde hair. Trailing through the trees, it left a soft echo like tinkling bells.

"Well," he breathed, "I guess we ought to find them."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Jim's shoes lightly tracked on the ground, producing soft, pleasant footfalls. The peace and quiet were more wonderful than he could have ever imagined. He felt drunk on the place-it was just that great.

Now, if they could just find McCoy and the rest of the landing crew. Realizing something, Jim abruptly stopped.

"Haven't we been about five hundred yards?"

This seemed to just be occurring to Uhura, as well. She looked bewildered as she said, "Probably. I don't know where they are."

With another burst of breeze, Jim looked up. The green leaves displaced in soft patterns. In a revealed blue piece of sky, Jim caught a spot of color.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing.

"What?"

"That, it's..." he trailed off. "This way."

With that, they headed in the direction of the spot of color in the sky.

"Jim-" Uhura began.

"It's Captain."

"_Cap_tain-"

"Hold on, Lieutenant."

They broke out of the trees, into the sun. There Jim stopped, holding out a hand indicating Uhura to stop as well.

The sound of voices reached his ears. Quickly, Jim walked toward them.

"Hey!" he called as he spotted three people-One in blue, one in red, and one in yellow. Dr. McCoy, the man in blue, was holding a wooden handle attached to a flimsy string, smiling despite his gruff disposition. Jim's eyes followed it all the way up to a happy, brightly colored kite waving in the wind.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Flying kites, Jim!" McCoy said. "Want to try?"

Jim shook his head. "You brought a _kite_ with you?"

"No," McCoy said. "I just was thinking about how nice it would be to fly a kite on a windy day like today. It was weird. I found this right after that, hanging on a tree limb."

Jim walked up and took the handle. He looked up at the kite he was now wielding and smiled.

"You found this?"

"Yeah. Someone must have been here before."

Sulu, the one guy in yellow, beamed at him. "This place is just like Earth, Captain! It's very odd."

"Hello?!" Uhura exclaimed. "Shouldn't we be worried?"

"This place is paradise, Jim!" McCoy interrupted. "I prescribed shore leave for the whole crew a long time ago."

"Yeah, paradise," Uhura snorted sarcastically, trying to be heard. "Just needs a couple of pink unicorns. No, better yet, a couple of _fluffy_ pink unicorns."

The ensign in red jumped into the conversation with a grin. "_EXPLODING_ fluffy pink unicorns!"

"Whatever." Uhura said. "Besides, why'd we leave Spock?"

At the mention of his first officer, Jim instantly became sore. "His title," he made sure to point out, "Is Commander."

"Yeah, well you never call him _Commander_ either."

"I don't have to. I'm the _Captain_."

"Is _that_ so?"

"Hey!" McCoy said through gritted teeth. "You two lovebirds!"

Jim ripped his gaze upward. Before he could say anything, Uhura cried, "You've got to be kidding me!" Eyes wide, she stumbled a step backward.

In front of them stood a very pink, very_ fluffy_ unicorn.

* * *

Everyone was frozen...except, of course, for the unicorn. Calmly, it turned around and trotted off, back the way it had come.

Jim immediately flipped open his communicator. "Spock."

"Yes, Captain? There is something very strange about..."

"Spock, there'd a pink fluffy unicorn heading toward you. When it comes by, I want you to stun it. Okay?"

"Excuse me, Captain," Spock said, sounding confused, "But what is a 'unicorn'?"

"A mythological creature that looks like a horse with a horn on its head." A slight pause. "It's a human thing."

"That is illogical. How could a mythological..."

"Spock, just stun it! We're on our way!"

"Affirmative."

He snapped it shut and shoved it back into his pocket. "Come on!" he shouted to no one in particular before taking off.

"Jim-!" McCoy began.

"Captain, who?!" Sulu yelled.

"You!"

"Aye!"

* * *

Jim and Hikaru barreled toward Spock, hurtling over a hill hot on the unicorn's trail. They spotted Spock just as Spock spotted the unicorn.

"Phaser! Phaser!" Jim yelled, waving his arms in the air. Spock, caught off guard, fumbled for his phaser. He lifted it up, pointed, and...

Nothing.

"What the..." Spock muttered, lowering the phaser. He flipped it over once and then again, examining it.

Jim didn't know what was up, but was suddenly irritated. "Spock!" he shouted, exasperated, out of breath. "I said to stun it, did I not?"

"Captain, surely I heard you. But it seems that the phaser bank has been completely drained."

"Drained?!"

Just as the unicorn calmly galloped off again, Kirk went up to Spock and grabbed the phaser. He checked the phaser's energy bank, muttering under his breath, and, sure enough, found it drained down to the last drop.

Trees. Kites. Rabbits. Unicorns. What was going on here? What was it going to be next? What was wrong with their phasers?

It was, Kirk decided, time to contact the ship. He glanced at Spock as he tried to catch his breath, pulling out his communicator. If he hadn't known better, he would have said that the Vulcan looked concerned.

He was so cute when he was concerned.

_No,_ Jim thought, shaking his head._ Focus_. Trying to do so, he opened the communicator.

"Kirk to Enterprise."

Static received his message. He repeated it.

Finally Scotty came through. "'Ello? Mr. Scott to Kirk. Come in, please."

"Scotty! I'm here!" Kirk tried to get through. "What's happening?"

"We're gettin' really strange energy readings, sir. The entire ship seems to be suffering an energy loss."

"How are the transporters?"

"I don' know, but I can find out for ye."

"Do it and report back to me. Kirk out."

He turned to Spock now. He looked calm now, his brown eyes cool and serene. _God,_ Jim thought, _those eyes._

"Analysis, Spock?"

"This is highly illogical." he said. Kirk tried not to linger on how he loved that his first officers eyebrows were knit together. "...But it seems to me that this planet has a strange energy field that is interfering with out communication and our weapons."

"And what would you attribute the...er...unicorn to?"

"Well, Captain, I could not say. I was not there to witness the appearance of the unicorn, so I can not say that I have a hypothesis."

_In other words_, Jim thought, _he doesn't know_. Sighing, Jim looked to his shoes.

"It is probably tied to the unusual energy," Spock added, then paused. "Do you not find it strange, Captain, that a human-made mythological creature is on this planet?"

"Yes, Mr. Spock, I do find it extremely strange."

Sulu chose this moment to speak up. "Captain, can I make an observation?"

Jim looked up. "Go ahead, Sulu."

"When McCoy thought about how it would be nice to fly a kite, one appeared. Right after Uhura said something about pink fluffy unicorns, one appeared. Perhaps this energy force is psychological."

That was a thought. Jim paused to think about it. Spock raised an eyebrow.

"So what you mean to say..." a glance toward Spock- "Is that it's all in our heads."

Sulu snapped his fingers and grinned. "Exactly."

"Hell," said Jim. "That's nice and all, but we need to get off this planet if its screwing with our communication. Besides, what happens if someone thinks of something bad, like a bomb or a fighter jet, or..."

"Captain!" Sulu and Spock hissed at the same time, both of their eyes wide.

_Oh._ Jim shut his mouth. For an awkwardly long while, all three tried not to think about anything. Spock had gone particularly quiet, his hands twined behind his back in an uncomfortable parade rest. He looked up at the sky, then to the trees.

"Maybe...maybe there's a source for this energy." Jim said, breaking the silence. "The unicorn seemed to just appear. But maybe it came from somewhere. A...a central location!"

Gazing at him steadily, Spock said, "That would make logical sense."

The breeze created a rustle through the nearby trees, combing through Spock's immaculate dark hair. It was only then that Jim heard it.

"Shit," he muttered, "Wind chimes."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"...Care to inform us, Captain?" Spock asked, raising an eyebrow. Man, Jim thought, he sure looked good with the green forestry around him and the calm blue sky above him. He ran his tongue over his lip, reminding himself that he had more to think about than how nice Spock looked.

"Scotty hasn't checked in yet," Jim stated, changing the subject. Looking up to the clear sky, Jim took out his communicator. "Should I call?"

"It cannot hurt us to try." Spock replied.

With that, Jim opened it. "Kirk to Scott." a pause. "Kirk to Mr. Scott, come in please." He tried a couple of more times, but, being met with silence each time, Jim gave up and slammed the communicator shut in frustration.

"Well, that leaves us with one other option."

"Finding the source?" inquired Sulu tentatively.

Jim smiled at him mischievously. "Not only that..." he said, "We're going to shut it down."

Before anyone else could say anything, Jim turned on his heel and began walking back to the landing area. Spock stopped him.

"Captain," he said, "May I remind you of the Prime Directive?"

Sighing, Jim stopped and turned around. He gave his first officer a wry smile. "You mean that thing that got me demoted?"

"Yes, that one."

Spock looked irritated. It was too bad, Jim thought, that he looked cute when he was irritated.

"Sure, Spock," he said, "Remind me. But it's not like I don't already know."

"Are you saying that you would..."

"Spock," Jim cut in. "What is more important? Our getting out of here, or the Prime-freaking-Directive? Besides, do you see any other logical solution?"

Spock slipped into his mind again, thinking. "Perhaps," he said, "Since our minds can manifest whatever we see on this planet, they can also destroy them."

Jim thought about it. It _was_ logical. What could they take away with their minds? The trees? The air? Was it all a mirage, created by their thoughts? At any rate, it couldn't hurt to try.

"Alright," Jim said. "Someone imagine something. Something harmless."

"Harmless," Sulu murmured. The trio fell into silence. After a couple of minutes, a twig snapped from behind them. Slowly, they all turned around.

Jim's eyes popped out of his head. He nearly choked on his own breath. Wildly, he glanced around at Spock, then at Sulu.

"Who the hell imagined _that?!"_

A large, hulking creature with white fur stared back at them, its wide jaws open and gaping. It looked like a horrific cross between a dog and a polar bear, with a grotesquely arched back and beady, wet black eyes.

Spock turned the slightest shade of green. "It is...was...a Vulcan animal. Widely considered domestic."

"D-d-d-domestic?!"

"I had one when I was a child. They are, unfortunately, quite aggressive creatures."

Jim just stared at the man, unbelieving. Spock raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the creature galloped toward them. On impulse, Jim yanked out his phaser. He tried the trigger, but nothing happened. Oh shit. He had forgotten.

"Shit!" he yelled when he realized it wouldn't work. The horrifying animal picked up speed, its mouth opened wide. Its tiny yet menacing eyes locked on him.

Jim's voice shot up an octave. "God dang it! What the hell?! Make it go a-"

The last word was lost in a scream as the brave Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise was slammed to the ground by the snarling alien creature. He struggled and carried on, screaming like a mad man.

"Jim!" Spock shouted. He was instantly on him, wrenching the thing off of him with those strong Vulcan arms of his. It was too big to lift, so Spock simply shoved it to the side and barked something in Vulcan to it. As fast as it had appeared, the thing was gone.

Jim was working his way to his knees, trying to calm down. "Are you alright, Ji-Captain?"

Had he called him Jim? Maybe...

_No._ Refusing to entertain the thought, Jim shook his head.

"I'm fine, Spock. Geez. Why would you imagine such an awful creature?!"

"They are actually quite pleasant creatures, that is, unless their claws puncture you."

"Their claws?! I was worried about their teeth!"

The smallest of smiles graced the Vulcan's lips. "Jim," he said, "They have no teeth."

"But-What-Did you not think it important to tell me that?!" Muttering and swiping dirt from his pants, he stood. Shaking his head, he crossed his arms squarely across his chest.

"At any rate, Captain," Sulu said calmly, despite what had just happened, "Our plan didn't work."

It sure hadn't, and that bothered him. Manifestations of their thoughts...that couldn't be destroyed by the same brains that had created them... Scary. But he knew what that meant.

"Alright," he said, "Let's find this thing."

* * *

They started back in the tree covered landing area. One set of footprints was set in the mud-the rabbit's. Sulu looked confused, but Spock looked calm as Jim pointed to the tracks.

"Alright," he said, "We're going to split up and follow these tracks to...wherever they lead. Sulu, take the unicorn. I'll take the rabbit. And Spock...You take that...that animal's. If I'm right, we should all end up in the same spot when we're through."

"Yes, Captain," Spock said, making an about face before heading off to the beginning of his respective set of animal tracks. Sulu nodded, looking slightly flustered, and followed suit.

Alone now, Jim followed the rabbit's trail backward into the wood. A peaceful quiet settled over the place, broken only by the now distinguishable sound of wind chimes on the breeze. Jim had to remind himself not to get caught up in the endless charm of this planet. Though they didn't seem it, they were deceptive.

With that in mind, he continued walking.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Sometimes Sulu had to question his Captain's ideas. Following animal tracks struck him as kind of far-fetched, but still he found himself following them faithfully. The Captain was kind of young, but so was he, and he'd been kind to him.

While wishing that he had a yellow brick road to show him the way, Sulu's mind drifted to Checkov. He and Pavel had really hit it off, and often times the little Russian would worry about him with as little a cause as being one minute late for lunch. He couldn't imagine how worried he would be when he learned that communication was down.

Sulu was only a few years older than Checkov, but he still felt obligated to take the kid under his wing. Pavel was soft-hearted and gentle but hardworking, and he had the cutest smile. Hikaru had never considered himself queer, but Pavel made him want to be. He wondered how it would feel to hold the Russian in his arms, to press his lips to his soft brown hair...

* * *

Spock. Spock. Spock.

Jim had made quite a bit of progress, but now he had to stop. _Pull yourself together_, he thought. _God._ What was wrong with him? He felt warm all over, thinking of his first officer. He longed to touch him, to kiss him, to simply be close to him...

He put his hands to his knees, bending his head into them and squeezing his eyes shut. _Stop it! Stop thinking about him!_

He opened his eyes and looked up.

Wind chimes.

* * *

Stubbing his toe on something solid, Hikaru looked down. He could hardly believe his eyes.

A yellow brick road.

"I'm a genius," he said to himself, smoothly stepping on to the path. This, he thought, was a lot easier on the feet. And a lot easier to follow. He'd been having trouble keeping up with the unicorn prints, but there was no way he could miss a yellow brick road.

The wind picked up, and Hikaru thought it so wonderful that he could almost hear it.

"_Ey_! Hikaru!"

Hikaru turned around. Was that...?

It was.

"Pavel!" he shouted to the smiling Russian running up the road. "What are you doing here?"

He barely had the time to open his arms before Pavel crashed into them. "I was so worried!" he said. "They told me that communication was down!"

"Uhm..." Sulu felt himself getting warm. "Pavel, I was..."

Checkov pressed a finger to Sulu's lips. The end of his sentence petered out.

Pavel kissed him. Hikaru gripped his shirt and returned.

* * *

It had gotten foggy all of a sudden.

...No, not foggy. Steamy. Steam rose everywhere, but Jim could not have pinpointed the source. Had he been thinking about steam?

At any rate, the steam was making the wood hard to navigate. Suddenly, his heart picked up, and all he could think about was Spock.

Driven by some unknown force, he barged through the trees and vegetation. Crashing through a bush, he came into a clearing filled with rising steam. He thought he could make out a form, tall and blue.

"Spock."

The Vulcan turned. Jim stumbled over, nearly tripping as he enveloped his first officer in his arms.

"Quality time," he murmured. By some unspoken agreement, Spock drew him closer.

"Were you thinking about me?"

Jim opened his mouth, bringing one hand up to clutch Spock's chest. The Vulcan, glancing down, picked up his hand and ran his fingers along it, sending an inexplicable thrill through Jim's body.

"I, uh, might've been." Jim could hardly talk. He was warmer than he'd ever been, his ecstasy just about pushing him over the edge.

Spock stopped, his fore and middle fingers coming to rest on Jim's. "Illogical." he murmured.

Jim could no longer find his composure. Had he even really had it in the first place? They stared at each other for a very long time, glued to each other's chest and twined together by their fingers.

* * *

Hikaru had to push Pavel away from him. Even as he did, the boy tried to kiss him again. It seemed as if he couldn't get enough of him.

"Um." Hikaru said, pressing his hand into Pavel's to keep him at bay. "We really oughta..." he chuckled. And tried again. "...I was order to, uh, follow this path."

"Ordered?" Checkov asked, his bright eyes staring up at him.

"Yeah, so you should, uh...Probably meet up with the rest of the landing party."

Pavel's eyebrows hitched together. "But...I want to stay with you."

Sulu was going to insist, but Pavel's lip pushed into a small pout. "Alright," he said, "I guess we're closer to Commander Spock and Captain Kirk anyway. We will check in with them."

"Yay!" Pavel said, smiling broadly. Sulu felt his neck heat. With that, the two continued together along the path.

* * *

The steam had dissipated, replaced now by bubbles, emanating from the ground.

"Did you do that, or did I?" asked Jim. All of a sudden, Spock looked up, his grip on the Captain loosening just the slightest bit.

"Spock?"

"Captain, I thought I..."

"Spock."

Spock looked back to Jim. The bubbles were gone. The steam was gone. Now it was just them, the clear sky above them, the brown earth below them.

And the sound of wind chimes.

Jim tilted his head forward stepping up slightly on his toes. Spock adjusted his grip, closing his eyes. Jim had closed his eyes also, but something at the last minute made him open them.

Standing behind Spock, prim, proper, and delicate, was the pink fluffy unicorn.

"Spock." Jim said. Spock opened his eyes, tilting his head back to get a good look. Distracted now, he let the Vulcan break off.

Paradise.

Spock took a step forward. Slowly, he extracted the tricorder from his side.

The only thing that would make it better...

What had the ensign said?

Spock's head whipped around. "Captain," he said, "This animal's skin is..."

But Spock didn't have the chance to finish. Because, at that moment, the world exploded.

* * *

About a mile away, Hikaru and Pavel simultaneously jumped when they heard the explosion. Pavel, frightened, had latched onto Sulu.

"What was..."

Eyes wide, Sulu gripped back. "Let's find out."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Bewildered, Jim found himself thrown against a nearby tree. His arm was stinging, and he lifted it up to find himself bleeding, bits of black char protruding from the ugly wound he found there.

What had happened? Where was the unicorn? Where was Spock?

Jim found his way to his hands and knees. "Spock!" he shouted, taking in the now unrecognizable area that they had just been standing in. "Sp-"

Just then, he caught sight of a snatch of blue. Desperate, he struggled to standing and stumbled over.

"Spock!" he gasped, dropping to his knees next to the green-stained Vulcan. Against hope, he wished that didn't belong to him. But who else could it possibly belong to?

Under him, Spock groaned. Very slowly, his eyes opened.

"Jim." he said.

"Spock, what-"

"Jim," Spock said, urgently now. "That unicorn...skin...some sort of polymer..."

Jim shook his head. What was he babbling about? "We don't have the ti-"

"Listen. Inhabitants...everything identical." Spock's eyelids began to droop.

"Spock, stay with me," Jim said, a whimper entering his voice. "You can't..."

Spock quieted him by meeting his eyes. "...t'hy'la." he murmured before going still.

* * *

Back in the field, McCoy's kite sailed to the ground. The explosion there was a muffled, distant sound, but it still made them all look up.

Uhura, who had been laying in the grass, relaxing as had the ensign, sat up now. "What was that?" she asked.

"To hell if I want to know," the Doctor answered, grumpily running a hand through his soft brown hair. "Now where the hell'd that breeze go?"

* * *

Back with Spock, Jim checked his pulse. It wasn't there.

"Shit, shit, shit," he muttered, leaping to his feet. He needed help, and needed it now. He would have attempted CPR, but had never learned how to on a Vulcan. Again he tried the communicator, but, not surprisingly, didn't get anything but static in response.

Pacing furtively, he found himself planted where the unicorn had once stood. Looking down, he spotted something he hadn't noticed before...yellow brick. Upon further examination, he found that the path led the way back to McCoy, Uhura, and the nameless ensign.

They couldn't be that far.

Thinking this, Jim set into a full sprint down the path.

Spock, Spock. Spock was hurt. If he...Jim didn't know what he'd do if he...

Suddenly Sulu and Checkov came into sight. Jim didn't remember Checkov being with the landing party. Had Scotty gotten the transporters working? If so, how come communication was still down?

"Sulu! Checkov! Do either of you know how to do CPR on Vulcans?"

They exchanged a look. "Captain, I know regular CPR," suggested Sulu.

"I know," Checkov piped up, raising his hand like an honor student. Sulu looked at him oddly. "You do?"

Checkov nodded, wide-eyed and innocent.

"Good. Spock is about 50 yards on the right. I'll be right there."

After a quick salute, Checkov was off.

"Sulu, how far are we from that field?"

"About two miles, sir."

"Go get Dr. McCoy. Run."

It was only after he'd sent Hikaru off that Jim began to feel his own pain. He tried to run back to the site of the explosion, but ended up limping and gasping.

The wind chimes on the air was now eerie, picking up lingering ash and spinning it around. Jim stepped up and looked around. Something was definitely wrong.

"Checkov!" he called. "Spock!"

But it was no use. There was no one there.


End file.
